Are batters more likely to fist hits to the opposite field against Fister? ... Don Wakamatsu seems like the perfect manager for Dice. ... Speaking of which, why do they call it "walking"? You never really see anyone actually saunter to first base. [veal ... waitress ... all week]

There is a good chance Victor Martinez will be back in the lineup tomorrow night. ... Jacoby Ellsbury is set to begin a rehab stint with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, DHing tomorrow and playing the outfield on Tuesday. ... Mike Lowell played third base and went 4-for-4 for the PawSox yesterday.

Oh sorry Mrs G, I haven't been threading (obviously). It's not too hot today, 25C, much cooler than it has been recently. It's nice Calling In Sick weather. I'm supposed to be at work but I needed another day to get ready for our vacation.

The media has spent the entire night bitching about Okajima not talking to them after the game. They claim it "makes an impression upon his teammates" (Rob Bradford) that he doesn't talk. Four or five of them referenced Beltre telling them he didn't know what Okajima was thinking and asked, "Did you ask him?"

I, and many other fans don't give a flying shit that Okajima didn't talk. The media are bitching about it because they're the media. They're a separate entity than the fans and the media want answers for themselves and their stories, supposedly to "inform the fans." What the fuck is he going to say? "I was unsatisfactory tonight. I don't know, I was looking at the ground upon throwing the baseball."

Further proof that the fans' interests differ from the media's interests. /rant

Optimism - it dwindles by the loss;Bullpens, make swiss cheese look hole-less."This surely must be the final nail in the coffin"Cry the media dolts.

But wait - we've played just ninety-nine matches yet,Another sixty-three remain before this book of twenty-ten is closed!Yes, as the crimson hose set sail for the great fields of Los Angeles, many of their finest muskets are just days away from return.The great stallion of a backstop to return tonight; the sack thief and laser technician to arrive shortly, a cactus in the distance.

'Tis true, les sox are five games out of the playoffs - five games which seems like a mountain -Mount Red Sock - already triumped once this season by these very players, during better times,Times when the manager's head was not full of vile salmon roe as it was this past week-end,Bullpen barnacles Delcarmen and Okajima continuing to make appearances in games with meaning.

Alas, Theo - now is the time for Bowden. Now is the time for bullpen renewal.Now is the time for the once mighty manager to regain his consciousness.Now is the time to close the gap.